


Wikihow To Break Free From Mind Control

by KJ1704



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Because It's Supernatural, Episode: s14e15 Peace of Mind, First Kiss, Fluff, Getting Together, Light Angst, M/M, Mind Control, i just messed with the episode timeline, not just because they get together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2020-08-14
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:13:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25893448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KJ1704/pseuds/KJ1704
Summary: The man in the trench coat in his living room is certainly unexpected. But a pleasant surprise. When the man introduces himself as his partner, over exaggerated wink and all, Justin searches his face for any familiarity and - finding none - settles on the idea that the man is flirting. Justin minds less than he'd thought. The man is certainly attractive, after all. And while he has Cindy and would never dare want any different, the man promises to be… interesting.
Relationships: Castiel/Sam Winchester
Comments: 7
Kudos: 45





	Wikihow To Break Free From Mind Control

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I didn't rewatch the episode before I wrote this so some things are skimmed over/changed. General episode is still the same. Hope you enjoy!

The man in the trench coat in his living room is certainly unexpected. But a pleasant surprise. When the man introduces himself as his partner, over exaggerated wink and all, Justin searches his face for any familiarity and - finding none - settles on the idea that the man is flirting. Justin minds less than he'd thought. The man is certainly attractive, after all. And while he has Cindy and would never dare want any different, the man promises to be… interesting. He's sure he can get Cindy on board. But the confusion on the man's face and the fact he called him Sam makes Justin think that there's some miscommunication somewhere. Nonetheless, he can work with this. Now that the idea's in his head he doesn't really want to let it go - even if it'll take some extra work. 

He hints what he's planning to Cindy easily enough and she not only understands, but seems excited by the idea. Which is really half the struggle done. 

"Sam-"

He touches the man's shoulder lightly and doesn't hesitate to cut him off. He's Justin, after all. Not whoever this 'Sam' is. And he doesn't want to go into this with the man thinking otherwise. "Did you want one?"

The man tilts his head and squints his eyes in confusion. "I don't… drink." Then, before Justin can ponder what that means in terms of his other motives and subtext, the man's face sobers and he stares intensely at Justin. "Listen, Sam-"

Justin lets his hand fall back to his side. "I think you have me confused for someone else. But you're welcome to stay if you'd like."

He's silent for a long time. As if weighing his options. "I… alright. I'll stay."

Justin feels his smile widen. "Great! Swell! Here, come sit down." He wraps his arm around the man's waist to drag him to the couch. He notices with pleasure that the man doesn't seem uncomfortable with the touch. Leaning into it, if anything. And when they sit down, he doesn't take the opportunity to shift away.

"I thought that was your chair." The man nods his head instead of pointing, his hands clasped tightly together. Then he grumbles out, "your wife… yelled at me for trying to sit there."

"Well, it is my preferred chair. But it's also nice to be close to people every now and then." He presses his leg against the man's. Once again thrilled by the fact he doesn't move away. "You get what I'm saying?"

"I suppose."

"Now, I don't think I caught your name?"

"Castiel."

"Wow! Castiel! Don't think I've heard that one before."

"Yes, I'm probably the only Castiel you know."

"Now where do you come from, Castiel? It's not every day we get out-of-towners."

Castiel does an interesting thing during their conversation. He continually shifts between staring intently at Justin, to looking at everything but him. And despite the man's comfort with touch, he seems flustered. Out of his depth. Justin feels like the miscommunication from earlier is still present between them. He just doesn't know what he's missing. It doesn't get any better when Cindy comes in with their drinks. She perches on the other side of Castiel, giving the man small touches like his is. But he doesn't seem to really clue in to what they're subtly asking. Oh well. It just seems they'll have to ask him more bluntly. 

And he's just about to do that when Castiel calls him Sam _again_. And not only that - but he _swears._ Justin kicks him out rather quickly after that.

"He was strange." Cindy says, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Disrespectful." He agrees, placing his hands on top of hers without thinking. "Easy on the eyes, though."

"Yes. Shame really."

* * *

He's lying in bed and he can't stop thinking about the man in the trench coat. Castiel. Thinking about what could have been, he supposes. But it's more than that. Castiel… confuses him. And whenever he tries to examine that feeling he stomach begins to do all sorts of strange things in a distinctly uncomfortable manner. Nothing like the feeling he got when he thought the man was flirting. It's not something he thinks he's… ever felt. So he tries not to think about it. 

But when he woke up just earlier and turned over to see Cindy, it surprised him. He's not sure why. They've been sharing a bed for… well, years. But he was surprised to see her. And it wasn't even that someone was there - it was that _she_ was. It was only for a split second but with everything that happened with the man in the trench coat it's… bothering him. 

And he's not sure why, but he's _tired_. He didn't really realise it until he was getting ready for bed, but he's exhausted. It's all catching up o him, he supposes. Although he's not sure what 'it' is. Because it couldn't just be the man in the trench coat. 

Justin climbs out of bed, careful not to wake Cindy, and grabs his glasses as he walks to the bathroom. And this isn't really where he wants to go - although he couldn't even tell himself where that is - but it helps alleviate some of the restless energy he feels. Because despite the fact he's bone-numbingly tired, he can't help but feel that he needs to be doing something. But he shouldn't even be awake right now - and he definitely shouldn't be going outside right now. Just the thought of that makes him nervous. 

So he stares at himself in the mirror instead. Cindy had told him over dinner that Castiel was looking for a man who was tall and had beautiful hair. The more Justin thinks about it, the more it would make sense for this person to be 'Sam'. Castiel just couldn't tell the difference between them, maybe. After all, Justin is tall and he likes to think his hair would be considered beautiful. But really. Either the man is face blind or Justin's got someone walking around looking like him. The latter option seems unlikely - he's sure it'd be the talk of the town it if was true. And the former explains some things but not others. He mentioned something about a curse-

-It's really too much to think about. And the churning in his stomach is starting to get worse than when he was lying in bed not doing anything. So he goes back to the bedroom and tries to ignore the faint sense of wrongness when he sees Cindy in his bed. Part of him wants to find the man and make him explain. To see if it's connected. But he wouldn't know where to look for Castiel if he even actually wanted to try. Especially not this late at night. And he doesn't want to try, either. Because - he's happy. Here. With Cindy.

He can't stop thinking about the man in the trench coat, but at least he manages to fall back asleep. 

* * *

When Justin wakes up, he feels fine. Happy. Normal. He's not surprised to see Cindy and can't even begin to fathom why he was in the first place. The man in the trench coat is far from his mind. Just a rude passerby who shouldn't have occupied Justin's thoughts as much as he did the day before. Attractive, but not important. 

At least, that's how he feels until he gets to the diner. Castiel's insistence of calling him 'Sam' is starting to get on his last nerve. He'd almost rather the man attacked him like he was attacking the others instead of refusing to acknowledge that he's Justin. But at least his purely defensive strategy allows Justin to get the upper hand. Not only does he have him pinned to the floor, but he managed to grab his weapon too. 

And now he's struggling to drive it home.

"Fight this."

To make Castiel _stop_. Because Castiel is saying things. And it's making his head hurt. Because he doesn't know what he's saying - he _doesn't_. He's happy here. It's perfect here.

"Why? I'm happy in Charming Acres. We're all happy!"

Why should he need to listen to what Cas is saying? He doesn't understand him.

"Sam, I know you want to be happy. And I know what it's like to lose your army. I know what it's like… to fail as a leader, Sam. But you can't lose yourself. You have to keep fighting. You _can't_ lose yourself, because if you do you fail us. You fail… all of those that we've lost. You fail Jack. Sam, you fail Dean."

He's saying things that mean something. Cas - he's saying things that mean something. And Justin… gets it. He knows.

Something gives and Sam plunges the angel blade into the floor next to Cas' head. He just barely manages to catalogue the look of pure relief on Cas' face before he's ripping the glasses off. 

"Sam."

"Cas."

He's barely even aware of his actions as he leans down and kisses Cas. Just briefly. He feels Cas tilt his head up to meet him. And he'll panic about this impulsive decision later, he's sure. But for now he just wants to be close to Cas. He just wants to know Cas is alive because oh _god_ he almost killed him.

But then Cas is pulling away. Eyes closed, cheeks flushed. It's a good look on him, Sam notes absently. But then Cas speaks. 

"The- the case."

And that's right. There's someone who brainwashed Sam. So he scrambles off Cas and offers a hand to help him up. He tries to be clinical about the touch, but he's sure they both hold on for too long. This is a long time coming, he thinks. And then he thinks, this came out of nowhere. But that's something to sort through when people aren't in danger.

* * *

Before they start driving home Cas reaches over to pull his hair out of the bun.

"Your hair looks much better down." He says as he does it, careful not to tug. 

And really, Sam thinks, it would be easier if he did it himself. But if Castiel wants to gently brush his hair back to it's usual place with his fingers, he certainly has no complaints. It makes him think about what Cindy told him. That Cas said he has beautiful hair. When Cas' hand drops away Sam almost grabs it. He's not sure why he's hesitating. He's sure Cas wouldn't mind - even as Justin, Cas didn't shy away from his touches. 

It really shouldn't surprise him. None of this should be surprising. Cas has been spending his nights in Sam's room for ages now. And, when Sam's awake at least, in the same bed (that's what was wrong with Cindy - she wasn't _Cas_ ). So yes, he shouldn't feel surprised. They've been working towards this for years now. Sam just… wasn't sure that all of it was mutual. But the kiss felt mutual. And they should talk about that. It's just with everything recently - with everything for the past couple of years, really - talking to Cas about it seems like too much.

"I'm sorry for almost killing you." His voice comes out more broken than he expected.

"It's fine." Cas speaks with a simultaneous firmness and softness. "It wasn't you.

"Still."

"Sam." Cas tilts his head. Makes Sam look him in the eyes. "I don't blame you. It wasn't you."

Sam nods. And looks away. The full brunt of Cas' stare is always too much to handle. They start driving and they don't talk about the kiss. 

* * *

When he gets back to his room Cas is already there. Leaning against his propped up pillow, scrolling through Netflix. It should be weird. Despite the fact that Sam has been greeted with this sight frequently when walking into his room, it should feel strange. Like something has changed. He just feels tired. But content. He settles next to Castiel, and when he lies down properly Cas finally turns to look at him.

"Are you going to sleep?"

"Yeah, Cas."

He nods. "Good." Then turns the screen off and mirrors Sam's position.

"Hey man you can watch something if you want."

"I don't. I thought maybe you'd need to be tricked into sleeping."

He laughs at that. Then he thinks that maybe he should bring up the kiss, because it doesn't seem like Cas is going to. "Look, Cas-"

"You should sleep. You've been through a lot recently. We can talk in the morning, if you want."

For a brief moment, he thinks that maybe Cas knows what he want to talk about and is trying to avoid the conversation. But even if he is, he's not wrong. Sam does need to sleep.

"Even as Justin I was exhausted." He tries to make a joke out of it, but Cas' smile is equal parts fond and sad. "Guess they couldn't get rid of that."

"I suppose not."

He closes he eyes. "I can't believe you told Dean about the cardigan. And Cindy. You're lucky I'm even letting you back in my room." And… it's a joke. But Cas has been kicked out before. And when they first started this he seemed to be waiting for Sam to do the same - although less drastic. "I don't mean that, Cas."

"I know." He feels Cas' hand stroke through his hair. "Good night, Sam."

"Good night."

* * *

When Sam wakes up the next day, Cas is reading. He'd taken his suit jacket off sometime in the night leaving him in just his dress shirt. He's sitting in a way that makes Sam glad he's an angel so he doesn't have to deal with the inevitable neck and back pain. This isn't a strange sight for Sam to see in the morning. And he can't help the lazy grin that spreads across his face. Cas is… beautiful like this. He's beautiful always, but especially like this.

"Good morning."

Cas puts the book away. Turns his attention to Sam. "Good morning, Sam. You slept well."

"Surprisingly, I did." He feels warm right now. Pleasant. He doesn't want to get up. And it's interesting to compare this feeling to how he felt waking up in Charming Acres. Because no matter how happy he felt at the time, it's nothing compared to this. And then he remembers this kiss. He sits up. Maybe too abruptly, judging by Cas' slightly surprised expression. "So we should talk about the kiss."

Cas doesn't answer straight away. He does sit up properly. "Do we have to?"

Right. There's the anxiety that seems to be following him around. "You don't want to?"

"That's not it. I-" then he pauses. And tilts his head and squints his eyes. "Usually when two people kiss it indicates that their relationship is transitioning to become romantic or sexual."

Relief floods through him, relaxing every muscle he didn't know he had tensed, and he can't help but laugh softly. "Yeah, that's right. It's a little more complicated than that, though."

"Oh." Cas looks away for a second and then meets his eyes again. "I guess I've never been in a… proper relationship. And it doesn't look complicated on TV."

"TV doesn't really show it, but people usually talk afterward. Make sure they're on the same page."

"Alright."

And it's here, with Cas looking at him expectantly that he realises he didn't plan this far ahead. 

"So…"

Cas seems to take pity on him. "Do you want to transition our relationship into something romantic?"

And that's the question, isn't it? Because he does. He has for years. But despite everything - despite Cas literally being in his bed right now - he's still not sure Cas will say yes. "Well, I mean. If you do."

"Sam." Cas sounds so… vaguely disapproving. Like it's ridiculous that Sam can't just give him a straight answer. And he's got the facial expression to match. It's… terribly endearing. 

"Alright, yes!" He notices his heartbeat speeding up. It's something he usually ignore, since it usually means danger. But right now, Sam basks in the feeling. It's like he's a giddy teenager all over again. Like Cas' response is all he needs to worry about. "I would like that. Would you?"

"Yes." Cas pauses. "So that means we can kiss and go on dates now. Can I kiss you?"

And right. That doesn't really help his heart slow down. It feels good to smile because he wants to, though. Not because he's being made to. "Sure."

Cas leans over and Sam meets him in the middle. A hand on Cas' cheek, the other propping himself up. And he's keenly aware of Cas' hands - one carding through his hair, the other lightly touching his waist. And the positioning is kind of awkward, so the kiss is only brief. They pull away, but don't go far.

"Sam. I'm not sure whether this is appropriate or not - apparently sometimes it can be "too soon"."

"Okay?"

"But we've known each other for ten years now, and I've said it before so - I love you."

It feels like it should be fake. But Sam spent the last couple of days in manufactured happiness so he knows it's real. "I- I love you too, Cas. Of course I do."

"Good. I'm uh, glad we're on the same page." Cas' lips curve up into a smile and Sam can't help but smile as well. Then Cas turns and grabs the remote. "I found this new documentary on Netflix that I think you'd enjoy."

He begins putting it on without really waiting for Sam's reply. And he knows he should be out doing something. Looking for hunts. Distracting himself. But Cas and his documentary is a good distraction as well. And that's all he needs right now. 

**Author's Note:**

> All I'm saying is that if Cas watches a lot of tv shows he's probably going to think "we kissed now we're dating" since that's usually how it goes unless a character states otherwise. It's why he touches Sam's hair a lot after the kiss but before they talk. He just thought they were dating and figured he'd let Sam take the lead for other things. Anyway I hope you enjoyed reading! EDIT: Genuinely forgot about Emmanuel and Daphne sorry!! I don't remember anything about them together so I don't know if that affects my hc in this fic whoops.


End file.
